By Farm Advisory Service
The podcast currently has 20 episodes available.
Mary-Jane Lawrie is joined by Fred Swift from South Clunes Farm and Highland Clip, and Stella Stewart from Anta.
Fred Swift farms South Clunes Farm near Inverness in the Highlands with his wife Sofi and his father. They run a traditional upland farm with cattle and sheep. Fred and his family have transformed the farm over the last 40 years, increasing biodiversity and introducing mob grazing. He was looking for an opportunity to add value to the wool from his sheep, and together with Scottish luxury brand Anta, they established the Highland Clip. The Highland Clip is working to add value to wool, whilst also creating a fully traceable product, which is important to Anta. Stella Stewart, a director of Anta, tells us why traceable wool and working with South Clunes is important to their business.
Resources
FAS TV: S2 E9 –South Clunes Farm Cluster (youtube.com)
History of the farm | South Clunes Farm | Inverness
Luxury Home Furnishings & Gifts Made in Scotland | ANTA
Protecting Highland Wool – ANTA
For more information, visit www.fas.scot
Twitter: @FASScot
Facebook: @FASScot
National Advice Hub
Phone: 0300 323 0161
Email: [email protected]
Mary-Jane Lawrie visits Whitriggs Farm in the Scottish Borders to speak to Lesley Mitchell. They chat about the family farm and how it has evolved over the years, their openness to challenges and change, and how that has allowed Lesley and her family to build a business that supports the family whilst also allowing a good work life balance. Once key change has been converting the business to organic and following a more regenerative agriculture approach, which has required a change in mindset. The farm now runs cattle and deer alongside their organic arable enterprise, making the most of their skills, time and farm assets. Lesley also talks about how she personally makes time for learning, which recently resulted in a trip to Antartica.
FAS Resources
Organics
For more information, visit www.FAS.scot
Twitter: @FASScot
Facebook: @FASScot
National Advice Hub
Phone: 0300 323 0161
Email: [email protected]
I'm Mary-Jane Lawrie, and in this episode I’m joined Claire Taylor. Claire is a journalist and describes herself as an agricultural communicator. She has recently finished her travels as part of her Nuffield Farming Scholarship and is now in the process of compiling all the information from her travels. We talk about her career and how that led her to applying for the scholarship, what she learned from it, and how we, as farmers, can work together to engage with the public to tell positive farming stories. She shares with us some of her amazing experiences from her travels and gives us a real insight into what farming is like in other countries.
Warning: This episode contains themes of political unrest, suicide, gender-based violence and murder. Listen with caution.
Resources
Nuffield Farming Scholarships - https://www.nuffieldscholar.org/
Claire Taylor Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-taylor-4135714a/
For more information, visit www.FAS.scot
Twitter: @FASScot
Facebook: @FASScot
National Advice Hub
Phone: 0300 323 0161
Email: [email protected]
Mary-Jane Lawrie is joined by Jenn Stewart. Jenn Stewart, partner & Head of Rural and Landed Estates at Johnston Carmichael, joined the company in 2019. Jenn has extensive experience in advising owner managed businesses and provides counsel to a wide-ranging portfolio of clients across multiple sectors. Jenn was brought up in her own family farming business and is now involved in her husband’s farming business. Jenn talks to us about the topic and theme of succession. A succession plan provides a level of certainty for everyone to ensure the ongoing sustainability and financial sustainability of the business, therefore the earlier this topic is brought to the table the better.
Related FAS Resources
You can get funding for succession planning through FAS. See Specialist Advice | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)
Other Resources
Johnston Carmichael | Chartered Accountants
Jenn Stewart LinkedIn Jenn Stewart - Partner, Head of Rural & Landed Estates & Dundee Office Head - Johnston Carmichael Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers | LinkedIn
For more information, visit www.FAS.scot
Twitter: @FASScot
Facebook: @FASScot
National Advice Hub
Phone: 0300 323 0161
Email: [email protected]
Mary-Jane Lawrie is joined by Kirsten Williams. Kirsten is a livestock specialist with SAC Consulting and she also runs a farm business on Ranna Farm in Aberdeenshire with her husband Ross. They have sheep, cattle, and a turkey enterprise on their rented farm. They were new entrants, working hard to secure a tenancy and build up their business to support them and their family. Kirsten has a really positive outlook on life and she tells us how determination and hard work have helped them succeed.
FAS Resources
Women in Agriculture (WiA) Discussion Group at Farm Advisory Scotland (fas.scot)
For more information, visit www.FAS.scot
Twitter: @FASScot
Facebook: @FASScot
National Advice Hub
Phone: 0300 323 0161
Email: [email protected]
Mary-Jane Lawrie is joined by some of the team at Glenrinnes Estate at the foot of Ben Rinnes in Moray. Estate manager Ali Laing tells us about the estate as a whole, and we are joined by head keeper Gordon Aitchison, distillery manager Martin Peroni, trainee farm worker Alex Shearer and head gardener Damon Powell. They all share their stories of working on Glenrinnes Estate and how their skills and enthusiasm come together to help run a successful community focused Scottish Estate.
Other Resources
Glenrinnes Organic Estate
Eight Lands Organic Spirits (eight-lands.com)
Pre-Apprenticeship | Ringlink Scotland
For more information, visit www.FAS.scot
Twitter: @FASScot
Facebook: @FASScot
National Advice Hub
Phone: 0300 323 0161
Email: [email protected]
Mary-Jane Lawrie talks to John Scott and Jock Gibson from Farmstrong Scotland. Farmstrong Scotland is a new initiative which is inspired by Farmstrong New Zealand and Doug Avery’s visit to Scotland a couple of years ago. John and Jock tell us what Farmstrong is, why they want to be involved in it, what wellbeing means to them, and give examples of how they implement Farmstrong’s five steps to wellbeing in their own lives.
FAS Resources
Mental Health and Wellbeing in Agriculture | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)
What's Stopping You - Wellbeing | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)
Other Resources
Farmstrong Scotland - Live Well, Farm & Croft Well
Step-Guide.pdf (farmstrongscotland.org.uk)
For more information, visit www.FAS.scot
Twitter: @FASScot
Facebook: @FASScot
National Advice Hub
Phone: 0300 323 0161
Email: [email protected]
Mary-Jane Lawrie talks to Lawrence Martin who was a new entrant to farming. After doing an HNC in agriculture at college, he started an apprenticeship with Lantra and SRUC. The apprenticeship gave him the opportunity to get out on farm and ultimately became a farm manager. He tells us of his farming journey, how the apprenticeship scheme works and how you can get involved in the scheme.
FAS Resources
Managing People | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)
Other Resources
Carbeth Home Farm – an an adventure in ecology, agriculture and tourism
From apprentice with no farming background to farm manager | The Scottish Farmer
Apprenticeships - Lantra
Study at SRUC | Apprenticeships
Modern Apprentice Lawrence Martin tells us how much he enjoys his career in farming - YouTube
For more information, visit www.FAS.scot
Twitter: @FASScot
Facebook: @FASScot
National Advice Hub
Phone: 0300 323 0161
Email: [email protected]
Mary-Jane Lawrie talks to Lucy Mitchell. Lucy was an active member of Young Farmers from her early twenties and went on to become national chair of SAYFC from 2022 to 2023. Lucy has recently handed over this role, and she tells us about what Young Farmers is, what sort of opportunities it gives young people, and what her year as national chair was like.
Related Resources:
Lucy Mitchell | LinkedIn
The Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs | SAYFC
You searched for lucy mitchell - Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs (sayfc.org)
Scottish Rural Leadership Programme | Elevator UK
Challenge of Rural Leadership - Worshipful Company of Farmers (farmerslivery.org.uk)
For more information, visit www.FAS.scot
Twitter: @FASScot
Facebook: @FASScot
National Advice Hub
Phone: 0300 323 0161
Email: [email protected]
Mary-Jane Lawrie talks to Ana Allamand. Ana grew up in Chile before moving to Scotland. She tells us about agriculture in Chile and her work over here with the Soil Association. Ana works to bring farmers together to learn from each other and foster innovation, and has great knowledge about how culture and agriculture fit together.
FAS Resources
FAS Connect | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service
Other Resources
Agreocology project series:
Facilitating the Transition; Enabling the Transition; Strengthening Livelihoods.
Soil Association Scotland
Our Work In Scotland (soilassociation.org)
Twitter: Soil Association Scotland (@SoilAssocScot) / X (twitter.com)
Soil Association (UK wide)
Soil Association
Twitter: Soil Association (@SoilAssociation) / X (twitter.com)
Other organisations Ana mentioned:
Nourish
Nature Friendly Farming Network
Landworkers Alliance
Pasture Fed Livestock Association
Scottish Crofting Federation
Parkhill Farm
Aipple cider
For more information, visit www.FAS.scot
Twitter: @FASScot
Facebook: @FASScot
National Advice Hub
Phone: 0300 323 0161
Email: [email protected]
The podcast currently has 20 episodes available.